US Crude Rebounds As Oil Market Takes Hurricane Irma In Its Stride

Monday's gains came as Hurricane Irma struck the US southeast with less force than once feared, easing worries that energy demand would be hit hard.

Power has been cut to 4 million homes in Florida as millions fled the state as Hurricane Irma moved up the coast. It gradually lost strength and weakened to a tropical storm by Monday morning as it headed towards Georgia.

At around $54 per barrel, the price for Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, is up almost $7 per barrel from June 30, but still below its peak of just over $56 per barrel for the year.

The price for Brent crude oil was up 0.46 percent at 9:18 a.m. EDT to $54.13 per barrel.

The longer-term focus, however, was on a possible extension to the 15-month production pact between members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC producers including Russian Federation.

October West Texas Intermediate crude CLV7, +1.20% tacked on 59 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $48.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after tapping a low at $47.

The week will also see key monthly reports from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Counties and the International Energy Agency to assess global oil supply and demand levels.

In a deal aimed at clearing the glut, OPEC is curbing output by about 1.2 million bpd, while Russian Federation and other non-OPEC producers are cutting half as much, until March 2018.

Stretching the duration of OPEC production limits by three months or more would fall under a worst-case scenario that ministers are now contemplating, the people said, asking not to be named because the talks were private.